Many commercially available athletic bands are dedicated to perspiration absorption. A typical example is an elastic terry cloth band commonly known as a “sweatband” that is may be worn around the user's head or wrist. While well suited to absorbing the wearer's perspiration, sweatbands offer little meaningful protection from impacts arising from speeding balls (or other moving sporting equipment), or contact with other players and playing surfaces.
Other athletic gear are primarily protective in nature and are designed to absorb impacts. These devices are typically much more bulky and complex in construction than conventional sweatbands and are not adapted to provide effective perspiration absorption. An example of such protective gear may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,625,820.
Some athletic bands are constructed as a layer of impact-absorbing material wholly or partially contained within a layer of cloth. Examples of such bands may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,910,804; 5,946,734; 6,000,062; 6,266,826 and 6,675,395, as well as in Published U.S. Patent Application No. 2002/0189004. Of these, however, only U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,734 addresses the advantage of providing “breathable” impact-absorbing cellular material for the wearer's comfort. However, in the sole embodiment thereof which mentions this feature, the “breathable” open-cell foam is a bulky ⅝ to 1 inch in thickness which renders the band thick and bulky in appearance.
An advantage exists, therefore, a thin athletic band which is economical to manufacture yet provides considerable impact protection coupled with effective perspiration removal.